A year has passed since Rido was destroyed and the usual antics of Cross Academy are back...or are they? On patrol, Yuki and Zero come across someone collapsed outside the gates. Covered in blood, they mistake her for a human and bring her to the infirmary, only to discover that she's a Songblood! And her secret may be the one thing that sends Cross Academy into a full-scale war.

Pain. Exhaustion. Everything had taken a toll. After three days and two nights, the wounds had built up. My power was spent from all the times I had been forced to use it to just escape.

Through blurred vision, I could just make out what appeared to be a gate. Letting out a breath of relief, I sank to the ground. Unconsciousness hit me before I could even wonder where I was.

"Well, that went well." Yuki sighed, with a swift glance at Zero.

"Yeah, whatever." Zero agreed in a bored tone. He was already heading off to patrol near the building. Before either of them had taken more than a few steps, a faint rustle reached them.

"Sounds like someone's trying to sneak around us." Zero said, heading in the direction of the noise. Slightly annoyed, Yuki followed him. Once at the fence-line, they looked around, trying to see where the day class student was. Zero looked around, eyes narrowed.

"Over there!" Yuki grabbed his sleeve and pulled him so that he could see around some bushes at the fence-line. From this distance, he could just make out the form of a girl covered in blood. "Come on, we have to help her!" Before Zero could say anything, Yuki had jumped the fence and was running over to the girl. With an irritated sigh, he followed her.

"We have to get her to the infirmary before another vampire finds her." Zero said stiffly, scooping her up in his arms. A soft thump caught his attention, but he started walking, leaving Yuki to pick up what had fallen out of the girl's hand.

"What is this?" Yuki mused, turning the ocarina in her hand. When she saw that Zero was leaving her behind, she jumped up and dashed after him.

"…And that's how we found her." Those words echoed around in my head for a bit and I closed my eyes tighter for a moment before deciding to risk opening them. At first, I couldn't really make sense of the scene around me. I was lying on a bed surrounded by other empty beds and there was a group of people that were talking near the door.

"I see. I'll look into it to see if any of the night class was out before class started." The one speaking was a guy with maroon-colored eyes and black hair.

"Perhaps Hanabusa was out there. He's bitten humans before." This one seemed a bit friendlier, his golden hair slightly mused, as if he had been outside in the wind for a time. One word that he had said, however, had me bristling in indignation.

"Human? Who's a human around here?" I snapped out, sitting upright. Instantly, four pairs of eyes turned to me.

"You're awake already?" The girl asked, surprise lighting her dark eyes, but I had already jumped out of the bed, terror seizing me as I looked around.

I couldn't have dropped it! I made sure I kept a grip on it before now! I dropped to the floor to see if it had rolled under the bed when the golden-haired guy came over and put a hand gently on my shoulder.

"Is this what you're looking for?" He asked lightly, holding out the ocarina. Unable to speak, I nodded and gently took it, watching him warily. I had been tricked like this before by other vampires that had wanted my blood, but the guy just smiled and stood up before walking over to stand behind the guy with the maroon eyes.

"So you're actually a vampire?" The girl asked. With a slight jump, I realized that they had no idea who I was, quite a difference from what I was used to.

"Right." I stood up and nodded to the small group. "My name is Ariao Narasa." The name seemed to sink in with the two guys, for they looked at each other in surprise.

"Narasa? As in the family of Songbloods?" The guy with the maroon eyes asked softly.

"So you've heard of us." I tensed, waiting for him to demand that I hold still so he could drink my blood.

"What are Songbloods?" the girl asked, tilting her head to one side. The shock must have shown in my expression because the girl looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if daring me to say something.

"Yuki, Songbloods are common vampires that have an extraordinary gift with music. Depending on what the individual Songblood decides, they can do almost anything with music, from breaking seals to conjuring up illusions." The golden haired man said lightly, casting a quick look at me. "They also have some of the sweetest blood among vampires, which would explain why she's a bit tense."

"This is the infirmary at Cross Academy." Yuki said, pride in her voice. A quick shiver went through me.

Cross Academy. Again, I hear that name. Just how am I connected with this place, anyhow? If this really was the famous Cross Academy, then maybe I was closer to finding the truth here…about my father.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I jumped back, nearly colliding with the bed behind me, as the golden haired guy startled me out of my thoughts.

"I'm fine." I said, giving my head a quick shake.

Before she died, my mother had told me that my father had always been someone who was never to be mentioned. On her deathbed, she finally told me that if I really wanted to know who my father was, he had last been seen at Cross Academy. Since that night three months ago, I had been trying to find this place, hoping that there would be some clue as to who my father was. In that moment, my mind was made up. Looking at the group, I took a few steps forward and knelt before them, pride almost stopping the words from coming out.

"Please tell me. What do I have to do to become a member of this academy?" After a long moment of silence, Yuki finally spoke up.

"Well…it's up to the headmaster and Kaname, here, for you to be entered here." I chanced a glance up to see her glance at the man with the dark maroon eyes.

"As long as you understand who's in charge here, I don't think there'll be a problem." Kaname said slowly, catching my gaze.

"Why would I have a problem with who's in charge?" I tried to keep the challenge out of my tone, puzzled as to why that was the thing he had chosen to say. There was another long moment of silence before Kaname turned to look at the guy with golden hair.

"Takuma, go with her to the headmaster's office and help get her into the school." Kaname said, and then cast a glare at me. "Let's hope this late arrival knows her place better than our last one." I met his glare for a moment before looking away and getting to my feet. As I followed Takuma out of the infirmary, I overheard Yuki whispering to Kaname.

"Do you really think it's possible?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was true, but I need her close in order to find out."

After that they were out of earshot and I was forced to put it to the back of my mind for now. Takuma tried to make some conversation, but when I remained silent; he finally gave up and focused on getting me to the headmaster's office.

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